Days after a major bridge that connects his town with the City of Rochester was abruptly shut down for structural repairs, Gates Town Supervisor Mark Assini is sounding the alarm about crumbling infrastructure in Monroe County.

"We are at a critical juncture," Assini said Monday afternoon, standing in front of "bridge closed" signs posted in front of the Chili Avenue bridge. "It's either start funding our bridge jobs, or we need to talk about what's next and prioritize which ones we fix and which we close."

About a third of all bridges in the state — and likewise in Monroe County — are considered "structurally deficient" under the state Department of Transportation's seven-point bridge rating system. All highway bridges in the state, regardless of whether they're owned by the state, a county or a local municipality, are inspected by DOT crews at least once every two years. Bridges with a score lower than a 5 are considered deficient, although that does not mean the spans are unsafe.

Beau Duffy, a spokesman with DOT in Albany said the "deficient" rating simply means the bridge needs maintenance work to bring it up to a state of good repair.

Assini, a member of the Genesee Transportation Council, the agency that helps determine how to locally spend federal transportation funds, said his intent is not to scare people about the condition of our bridges, but to start a conversation about getting more federal money for roadwork.

"In years past, the feds made additional money available for bridges, but most of that funding has dried up," he said.

He said GTC was unable to guarantee there would not be a structural failure on a local bridge in coming years if additional funding does not materialize. Assini said the agency is working on a "Plan B" for bridges that would list which bridges would be shut down and alternate traffic routes if no more money becomes available.

Richard Perrin, GTC executive director, said the agency hopes to have a contract signed in July for a study of all 1,600 bridges in the council's 7-county region. That study will help the agency determine which bridges to fix, and which could potentially be closed.

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A report issued in January by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli pointed out that the state's Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund, which is funded with money from gas tax and other fees, is largely being used to pay for debt service and day-to-day operational expenses for DOT and the Department of Motor Vehicles, not for fixing bridges and roads. Indeed, the fund disbursed more than $3.8 billion in the 2012-13 fiscal year, but spent only 22 percent of that on construction.

Duffy, with DOT, said federal transportation aid to the state has been flat since 2009.

"And that does create challenges because the needs are increasing," he said. "New York has some of the oldest and most heavily used infrastructure in the country, so it's crucial we keep up with maintenance."

He said the state already prioritizes making sure bridges are maintained over building new roads.

He also noted that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $1.2 billion NY Works program push that began in 2011 has served to provide for 2,100 miles of repaved roads and repairs or replacement of 120 bridges across the state.

State bridge inspection data show that of the more than 600 bridges in Monroe County, 27 have ratings lower than a 4.

Assini, a Republican running against U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, in November's Congressional race, said he would be open to raising the federal gas tax to help fund bridge work, but only if that was the only available option.

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"And I don't believe that is the only option, not when I see other federal spending like $10 million for 'green roofs' rather than bridges," he said, referring to an initiative in the early 2010's that was partially funded with federal dollars to rebuild the Civic Center plaza and install a 'green roof" on the Civic Center Parking Garage downtown.

Eric Walker, a spokesman for Slaughter, said the Congresswoman agrees with the need for a larger federal investment for roads and bridges. He noted that Republicans in Congress just last week unveiled a plan to slash highway grants, and that, "Last year, the Republicans' proposed budget allocation for transportation and infrastructure was so low that even some Republican members refused to support it, and in an embarrassment for Speaker (John) Boehner, the bill had to be pulled from consideration."

The Chili Avenue bridge, built in 1940, was rated at 4.31 at its last inspection. Painting crews last week discovered "significant" deterioration on the bridge's structural members while sandblasting. Since DOT couldn't say for sure how much weight the bridge could safely hold, a decision was made to close it until repairs could be made. About 16,000 cars generally use the span each day, but will have to use a posted detour for weeks until the fixes are complete.

Assini said he's concerned there will be growing numbers of emergency closures in coming years.

"At some point, we just have to get everybody together and decide how we are going to fund the needs that we have," he said.

The state Department of Transportation inspects all highway bridges at least once every two years. The agency uses a scale of zero to seven to rate the bridges it inspects, with any bridge rating under 5.0 considered deficient. About 30 percent of the more than 600 bridges in the county have ratings that under 5.

According to state data, these bridges have the lowest inspection ratings of the spans in Monroe County.

Interstate 490 over Marsh Road, Pittsford. Rating: 3.42

Inner loop over Brown's Raceway, Rochester. Rating: 3.52

Interstate 490 eastbound over CSX Tracks, Chili. Rating: 3.56

Klem Road over a tributary of Mill Creek, Webster. Rating: 3.57

Interstate 490 eastbound over CSX tracks, Chili. Rating: 3.59

Route 390 over Trolley Boulevard, Gates. Rating: 3.64

Bay View Road over Route 590, Irondequoit. Rating: 3.67

Ontario Street over Irondequoit Creek, East Rochester. Rating: 3.75

Route 31 over Route 390, Gates. Rating: 3.77

Scott Crescent over Old Mill Race, Scottsville. Rating: 3.8

Source: NYSDOT

About bridge ratings

The state Department of Transportation rates bridge condition using a scale of one to seven: